Switch



Oct. 13, 1931. c. cHRlslTENEN SWITCH 4 Filed Sept. 19 1925 4Sheets-Shed: 2

Cinisi/en Craewca MMV' ad @im Oct. 13, 1931. c. cHRlsTENsEN SWITCH fFiled sept. 19, 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Mwave/7212114: rzlsen Chris fangenCet'. 13, 931. c. cHRlsTENsEN SWITCH Filed Sept. 19, 1,925 4Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Oct. 13, V1931 y UNITED STATES Pa'rizN'r oFi-icECHBISTEN CHBIBTNBEN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, lASSIGNOB. T0 ELECTRICALENGINEERS EQUIPIENT COIPANY, Ol' CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OIILLINOIS SWITCH i Application Med september 19, 1925. Serial No. 57,822.

My invention relates in general to electrical switches, and moreparticularly to locking mechanism therefor.

The present invention-has particular reference to switches, employed inconnection with In transmission installations, such as wer house andsub-station installations, it is the general practice to use adisconnecting switch in the line immediately before the typical oilcircuit breaker. Also, when the circuit breaker is associated with anomnibus bar, it

is customary to employ a disconnectin switch in the line leading fromthe circuit reaker intermediate the breaker and the omnibus bar. Theduty of initiall interru ting the current flow is performed g the oicircuit breaker, while the function o the disconnecting switch is tovthereafter enable the o ening of the line Whenever it is so desired were it enters the station and to thus disconnect all of the stationapparatus, including the circuit breake1',.

from the line. Also, if it is desired, the disconnecting .switchintermediate the circuit breaker and the omnibus bar may be operated.This, asis apparent, enables the repair and adjustment of the circuitbreaker and other station a aratus to be performed without danger oinjury from the line potential.

In practice, I have found that the ordinary type of switch lockingmechanisms do not function properly when the switch is subjected tostresses and strains. This is particularly true of high tension switchesor switches designed for outdoor installation and switches which employlong insulator pillars. In `the case of switches employing longinsulator pillars, there is quite a considerable amount of play ordeflection between the terminals' of the switch. I propose, inaccordance with the present invention, to provide locking mechanism forelectrical switches which will remain positive and-reliable in operationevenv under a relatively large deflection of the insulator and switcterminals.

Now, in the case of gang operated switches, it, as is evident, isdesirable to provide locking means for contemporaneously locking all oftheKswitch units. The switches I have reference to, are of the typedisclosed in my Patent No. 1,584,732 granted May 18, 1926 on mycopending application, Serial No. 646,750, filed June 21, 1923, and arecommonly referred to as single throw gang operated switches. Due to theplay existent between the switch units, I found it impracticable toemploy locking mechanism connected to the switch blades of all theunits. Moreover, it was far morel desirable to provide a single lockingmechanism independent of the units, but adapted to contemporaneouslylock all of them in their closed positions.

I propose in accordance with other features of the present invention, toprovide a switch having a lurality of switch units wherein a single locin device serves to contemporaneouslylock a l of the switch units intheir closed ositions.` l

An oject of the present invention is to provideim roved switch lockingmechanism.

Anot er object of the present invention is to provide a switch having aplurality of switch units wherein one lock sulices to lock all of theunits thereof.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will more-fullyappear from the following detailed description taken in connection withthe accompanying drawings which illustrate one embodiment thereof and,in which, l

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a switch embodying the features of thepresent invention;

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the switch illustrated in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken y on the line 3--3 of Fig. 2;

lFig. 4 is a modification of the structure illustrated in Fig. 2 showinganother mariner in which the switch may be mounted;

Fig. 5 is a view taken on the line of Fig. 1, showing the link mechanismfor operating each switch unit; and

Fig. 6 is a view of a modification of my inverion showing anelectrically operated loc Referrin now to the drawings in detail, inwhich li e reference numerals designate similar parts throughout theseveral views, 10 denotes a base or supporting frame upon which theswitch is erected and which may be of any conventional form. The base 10may be mounted on pole tops, switching towers, or in any other desiredlocation. The

/switch I have illustrated comprises three switch units and, inpractice, is termed a three single pole, sin le throw gang operatedswitch. It is, o course, to be understood that my invention is not to belimited to the number offunits shown, nor to the number of poles'in eachunit.

All of the three units illustrated in the accompanying drawings areidentical in construction, and therefore, a description of one of theunits will sufiice for all of them.

Each unit comprises a pair of suitable insulators 11 and 12 which may beattached to the base 10 in any desirable manner. The free end of theinsulator 12 carries the hinge terminal 13 to which the switch blade 14is pivoted, and the free end of the insulator 11 carries the contactterminal 15. Each terminal has extending therefrom a connecting lug orclip 16 to which are connected the opposite sides of the line (not showThe switch blade 14 comprises two spaced blades 14 engaging its pivot onopposite sides of the hinge terminal 13. A pivot bolt 17 passes throughthe switch blade and through the hinge terminal. The hinge terminal isprovided with the usual spring washers 18 which function to normallyurge the switch blades into firm contact with the sides of the terminal13. The other end of the switch blade 14 has passing therethrough a pairof bolts 19 and 20, one on each side of the terminal 15, which are alsoprovided with spring washers 21. These spring washers function to drawthe blades 14 together, thus enabling the blades to fit tightly on theterminal 15 and causing the switch blades to form a contact with thesides of the terminal 15.

Located intermediate the ends of the switch blade 14 is a pivot pin 22,to which one end of an element or link 23 is pivoted. The pivoted end ofthe link 23 preferably projects intermediate the blades 14. If it is sodesired, spring washers may be mounted on the pivot pin 22, one en eachside of the blade 14. The link 23 passes through a suitable aperture inthe base 1() and is pivotally attached at its other end to the free endof an arm 25 attached to a shaft 26. The shaft 26 is shown as being of asquare cross section and is journaled in suitable bracket-like elements27, carried by the base or frame 10. The arm 25 of each unit may berigidly attached tothe shaft 26 and held in place there on by anysuitable means as, for an example, set screws 25. Also the aperture 27in the arm 25 for receiving the shaft 26, is preferably a little largerthan the cross section of the shaft, so as to permit the arm 25 to beadjusted on the said shaft (Fig. 5). This is highly advantageous,inasmuch as quite frequently one switch unit becomes a little loose withrespect to the other switch units, and it is necessary to tighten it upin order for it to work in harmony with the other units. That is to say,for an example, the link 23 of one of the units may not function asreadily as the links of the other units, and it is therefore desirableto so adjust the arin associated therewith that it will functioncontemporaneously with the other units. As may be clearly seen in Fig. 5of the drawings, the arm 25 may be given a slight angulaiadjustment withrespect to the shaft 26 by loosening one of the set screws 25 andtightening the other set screw. Thus these set screws constitute amicrometer adjustment for the arm 25.

The arm 25 of each switch unit is mounted on the shaft 26, which iscommon to all units. Therefore, by operating one switch blade about itshinge terminal7 it will necessarily follow that the switch blades of theother units must be contemporaneously operated. Obviously, by lockingthe shaft 26 against rotation, all of the units may be locked in eithertheir open or closed position simultaneously.

In Fig. 2 I have illustrated one way in which the base 10 may besupported. It consists essentially in rigidly attaching the base 10 to aplurality of arms 30 which are in turn bolted to transverse pipes 31suitably attached to and carried by vertical pipes 32. It is evident byremoving the bolts associated with the ends of the arms 30, the base 10may be easily removed from the pipe supporting structure.

In Fig. 4 I have illustrated an alternative way of supporting the base10. This con sists briefly in casting the bracket-like element 27 with aweb portion 35 andan integral plate 36 equipped with apertures 37. Theplate 36 may be attached to any wall or other analogous supportingstructure by bolts (not shown), passed through the apertures 37 andattached to the supporting structure.

Suitably attached to the upper part of the base 10 are a plurality ofbarriers 40 for separating the switch units from each other. Each ofthese barriers are preferably made of some insulating material, as foran example, asbestos wood.

As illustrated in Fig. 1, a collar 41 is suitably attached to one end ofthe shaft 26 to aid in, maintaining the shaft in position. Mountedon theother end of the shaft 26 is a segmentlike arm 42 which has an arcuateportion 43. The arcuate portion 43, as is clearly illustrated in Fig. 2,is provided with two slots 44 and 45. fIhe arm 42 is provided with asquare aperture /46 which is somewhat larger in size than the shaft 26,on which it is mounted, so as to ermit the arm 42 to be adjusted on thesha t 26 iny much the same manner as the arm 25. The arm 42 may be heldin place on the shaft 26 by any suitable` means, such as set screws 47.

Attached to the bracket element 27 adjacent the arm 42 is a stud 48, towhich one end of a small pawl or arm is pivoted. rPhe free end 51 of thearm orl pawl 50 is adapted to always engage the top of the arcuateportion 43 of the arm 42. The end 51 of the pawl 50 is of such a shapeas to be adapted to enter the slots 44 and 45v when either of them arepositioned directly thereunder. Naturally, whenever the end 51 of thearm 50 is in either of the slots 44 or 45 in the arcuate portion 43, theshaft 26 will be prevented from being turned, due to the fact that thearm 42 is rigidly attached to the shaft 26 by the set screw 47. The end51 ofthe pawl 50 is provided with a lateral projection 52 which servesto disengage the pawl 50 from the arcuate portion 43, as will now bedescribed. f

In Fig. 3 I have clearly illustratedmy novel handle which is adapted tobe used to disengage the end 51 of the pawl 50 from the arcuate portion43 and to turn the shaft 26. The handle 60'is provided vwit-h a squareaperture 61 for receiving the end of the shaft 26. The upper end of thehandle 6() is bent downwardly forming a lateral projection 62. Itshould` be noted that this projection y62 is at less than a rightanglewith respect to the main body portion of the handle 60 and,`

that it slopes downwardly. The handle 60 is first placed on the shaft 26and then is slowly moved forward towards the arm 42. In its forwardmovement, the top surface of the projection 62 comes into engagementwith the stud or rejection 52 'on 'the pawl 50. As indicated y thedotted lines in Fig. 3, the projection 62 of the handle 60 is adapted tocam the projection 52 of the pawl 50 upwardly nntilthe end 51 is out ofengagement with either of the slots 44-45 in which it may happen to beat anyone time disposed. In other words, the handle serves. to disengagethepawl 50 from the arm 42 so as to permit the shaft 26 to be turned toeither open or close the switch units com prising the switch.

The operation of the switch is briefly as Normally, when all oftheswitch blades'of the switch are in their lrespective closed positions,the end 51 of the pawl .50 vwill fall into the slot 44 due togravity,'and will prevent the shaft 26 from turning, Naturally, thiswill result in the switch blades being locked in their closedpositions.' Should, for any reason, one of the switch blades 14 or itsassociated link 23 become looseor too tight with respect to the otherswitch units, it may be adjusted` through the arm 25. That is to say,due to the fact that vthe aperture 27. in the arm 25 is somewhat largerin size than theshaft upon which it is mounted, the arm 25 may be movedslightly with respect to the shaft. It is evident that by simplytightening or loosening the set screws 25', as the are quite frequentlyaffected by'the stresses' and strains to which they are subjected.

Now since all of the switch units are connected to a common shaft, it isapparent that by locking that shaft against rotation, all of the unitscomprising the switch may be locked in either their closed or openpositions. I accomplish this by my novel locking mecha` nism associatedwith one end of the shaft as described above. Normally, when the switchunits are in their closed positions, the end 51 ofthe pawl 50 will bedisposed in the slot 44 of the arm 42. Similarly, when the unitsare intheir respective open positions, the end 51 of the pawl 50 will bedisposed in the oslot 45 of the arm 42. The arm 42 may also be adjustedwith respect to the shaft 26 in the same manner as the arms 25, due tothe fact that its aperture 46 is considerably larger than the shaft 26.In other words, by turning the set screws 47', the arm 42 may be movedslightly relative to the shaft 26 to bring it into its proper positionwith respect to the pawl or dog 50. This adjusting feature is also noveland highly useful and advantageous, since it enables the slots 44 and 45to e maintained at all times ina proper relationwith respect to the end51 of the pawl 50. v

Another novel feature of the present invention is the handle 60. Thishandle serves two purposes; one to disengage the pawl 50 from the arm42, and the other to enable the turning of the shaft 26..

In Fig. 6 I have illustrated a modification of my invention showing anelectricall 0perated lock. The switch comprises a p ural- ,ity of switchunits mounted upon a common base 100 which may be of any conventionalform. Although only one switch unit is illustrated in Fig. 6, it is ofcourse to be un- Each switch unit includes three insulators 101 102 and103, which are fastened tthe base 100 in any usual manner. The free endof the insulator 101 has mounted thereon a Contact terminal 104 equippedwith a lug or clip 105. Similarly, the insulator 103 has mounted on andsecured to its free end a contact terminal 106 provided with a lug orclip 107. The central insulator 102 is provided with a pivot or hingeterminal 108 equipped with a lug or clip 109.

Each unit is designed to control two circuits. The lead of one circuitis connected to the lug 105 and its other lead is connected to the lug109. One lead of the other circuit is connected to the lug 107 and itsother lead is connected to the lug 109. Thus it will be seen that the luor clip 109 has connected thereto two con uctors or leads. This type ofswitch unit is often referred to as a double throw gangoperatedconstruction, as will become more apparent as the descriptionprogresses.

Pivoted intermediate its ends to the hinge.'

terminal 108 is a bent or angular switch blade 110 which comprises twolegs 111 and 112. The switch blade 110 may comprise two spaced elements,such as that disclosed in connection with the switch blade 14./ That isto say, blade 110 may be com osed of two spaced blades, such as the blaes 14 of the switch blade 14, which engage the hinge and the contactterminal on op osite sides. The free end of the leg 111 of) the blade110 is adapted to engage the contact terminal 104. This leg of the blademay be equipped with rSpring washers 113 and 114, one on each side ofthe contact terminal, the construction of which is well known in :theart. The free end of the leg 112 is adapted to engage the terminal 106.It is provlded with washers l15and 116, whose functions are obvious.

Located intermediate the free end of the leg 111 and the pivot terminal108, is a plvot pin 117, to which one end of a link 118 is connected.The link 118 extends inwardly ntermediate the insulators 101 and 102 andpasses through a suitable aperture to the opposite side of the base. NowI desire .it understood that the link 118 could equally well have beenpivotally attached to the leg 112 instead of the leg 111 withoutdeviating from the features of my invention.

Attached to the rear face of the base 100 are a. plurality of bracketmembers 120 which carry a shaft 121 common to all switch units. Theshaft 121 is shown as being of square cross section and is substantiallythe same as shaft 26 in my other modification. Attached to this shaftare aplurality of arms 122. one for each switch unit. Each arm may beattached to the shaft by any suitable means, as, for an example, a setscrew 123. The free end of eacharm 122 is pivotally attached to theother end of the link 118. Attached to one end of the shaft 121 is ahandlelike member 125 equipped with eye hole or aperture 126 forreceiving a pull hooky or the li e.

Also secured to the shaft 121 intermediate its ends, is a segment-likearm 127 equipped with an arcuate portion 128. The periphery of this arm127 is provided with two spaced notches 129 and 130. In Fig. 6 I haveshown thisarm 127 in its other position in dotted lines. Since it isbehind one of the brackets 120, it of necessity, is shown in itsotherposition also in dotted lines. The arm 127 is substantially 'likearm 42 in Fig. 1 and is mountedon the shaft 121 in the same manner asthe arm 42 is mounted on shaft 26.

Attached to the lower part of the base 100 intermediate its ends, -is adevice which I term broadly a release mechanism. I have designated thismechanism in general by the reference numeral 135. It comprises a lowvoltage solenoid 136 connected to a circuit 137 including the battery138 and a switch 139. Pivotally attached at 140 to the solenoid 136 isan armature member 141 which is adapted to be drawn to a verticalposition when the solenoid is energized by the closing of the switch139.` Attached to this armature member 141 is an arm 142 equip ed with alateral projection 143 on its ree end adapted to itin either of theslots 129 or 130 in the'segment-like arm 127 on the shaft 121.

The operation of the modification illustrated in Fig. 6 is believed tobe obvious from the foregoing description. The switch blade 110 isadapted to be moved into contact with either the terminal 104 or theterminal 106. That is to say, it is movable from one position to.another position. On the drawin the leg 111 of the switch blade is shownlocke in engagement with the terminal 104. This is accomplished by thepro'ection 143 of the arm 142 enga ing in the s ot or roove 130 of thearm 12 The arm 142 is eld in its engaged position as long as thesolenoid 136 is energized. That is to say, as long as the switch 139 isclosed, the armature member 141 will be attracted by the solenoid andthe arm 142 will be moved upwardly into engagement 4,with the arm r127.Whenever it is desired to relieve the locking mechanism, the switch 139is opened and the arm 142 of its own weight drops, separating thearmature 141 from the end of the solenoid 136. Then by operating thehandle 125, the leg 111 may be moved out of engagement with the terminal104 and the leg 112 moved into engagement with the terminal 106. Next,by closing the switch 139, the arm will engage in the slot 129 of theaperture 126 and lock the switch blade in a second position.

I desire it understood that my invention is not to be limited to aswitch blade movable into only two positions. It is evident that thesegment-like arm 127 may be provided with more than two slots, such vasslots 129 and 130. In other words, it could equally well be providedwith a slot or groove on its periphery intermediate the two disclosed,by which, the switch-blade 11.0 could be locked in an open position awayfrom both the terminals'lO/l and 106.

I desire it understood that although I have disclosed and describedspecifically what I deem my preferred embodiment of my invention, thatthe invention is not to be limited thereby, but only in so far asdefined by the scope and spirit of the appended claims.

1. 'In combination, a switch comprising a plural-ity of switch units, aframe upon which the said units are disposed, a shaft common to all ofthese units for operating them, a lock member carried b v the said shaftequipped with a pair of slots, one of the said slots being ladapted tolock the switch units in their open position, and the other 'slot beingadapted to lock the switch units in their closed posit-ion, a pawlcarried by the frame of the switch having its free end in engagementwith the said lock member, the said pawl being adapted to co-operatewith the said slots in locking the switch units. and means forcontrolling the position of the pawl including an electric solenoid andan armature associated therewith.

In combination, a non-circular operating shaft, a plurality of switch orating means operated by said shaft, sai means having a slight angularmotion with respect to the shaft, and each of said means including twoscrews forlocking it to said shaft, said screws being disposed at anangle to one another whereby the screws constitute means for moving theoperating meanswith respect to the shaft for adjusting the relativepositions of the shaft and the operating means.

3. In combination, a non-circular operating shaft. means mounted on theshaft to with respect to the shaft for adjusting the position of saidmeans on said shaft.

6. In combination, a switch comprisingy a plurality of switch units, ashaft common to all of the switch units for opening and .closing them,locking means for locking the shaft against movement, and operatingmeans removably mounted on the shaft for operating the shaft, saidoperating means including means for disengaging the locking meansresponsive to the insertion of the operating means on the shaft.

7. In combination, a switch comprising a plurality of switch units, ashaft common to all of the units for operating them, 'a lock membercarried by said shaft and including a pair of slots, a locking pawlcooperating with the slots for locking the shaft against movementwhen/the shaft is in the open position and when the shaft is in theclosed posi- .tion, an operating member on the shaft for operating saidshaft, and means on the operating member and rigid therewith forreleasing said pawl. v

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this th day ofSeptember, 1925,

` CHRISTEN CHRISTENSEN.

have a slight angular motion with respect to the shaft, and two screwslocking the means to the shaft, said screws being disposed at an angleto one another whereby said screws constitute means for moving the firstnamed means with respect to the shaft for adjusting their relativeposit-ions.

In a gang operated switch, a plurality of switch units. a commonoperating shaft for-operating the units, and positive operating meansassociated with eachswitch unit and operable while the unit is connectedto the shaft for imparting a limited adjusting motion to the switch unitfor adjusting the posit-ion of the individual units with respect to theshaft.

5. In combination, avv non-circular shaft, means mounted on the shaftand having a limited angular motion with res ct thereto, and set screwmeans extending tween. the shaft and the first named means and rotatableto impart a relative motion to said means

